The Hip-Hop Movement

            What do people think of when they hear the word hip-hop? Usually people will think of a style of music, generally rap. Hip-hop however is more than just music, it is a way of life; a culture. It is for a society of people who identify, love, and cherish rap, break dancing, DJing, and graffiti.Hip-hop has changed the way people live and has made a dramatic influence on millions of people. Everyday people are doing something related to hip-hop or are witnessing something that has to do with it. Hip-hop started out as having fun and expressing oneself. If someone wanted to express happiness, sadness, anger, or anything else, they would have been able to do it through hip-hop. Whether they were expressing themselves by dancing, rapping, or graffiti, it was all still a part of hip-hop. Because of the media and other popular entertainment, hip-hop has expanded into a central identity for an entire generation. This street culture which has been manifested through numerous genres of music and entertainment is exuberated with pride through the majority of the youth culture and is now used as a major money making industry. However, first we must take a look at what made hip-hop and how it has evolved over time to become this giant culture and a major influence on how we live today.
             Hip-hop, like all other Black-American music has descended from Africa. African tribal rhythms and musical traditions survived the transportation of millions of Africans to America as slaves. Over the time of 300 years of slavery, old African music became the new sounds of Black-America. Now let's fast forward to the 1970's. It was then when Hip-hop was born. It was the voice of a generation that wanted to be heard and refused to be brought down by urban poverty. .
             Now in the early 70's, disco ruled the airwaves. But then a man named Kool DJ Herc migrated to the Bronx from Jamaica with, at the time, an unusual play list of R&B, soul, funk, and obscure disco.